When Will I Learn?

Linear Trail: Temperature 72 degrees. Splits 9:12; 9:32; 9:41; 9:54; 9:52; 10:08; 9:55; 9:15; 1:17:29 total for 8 miles; 9:41 per mile pace.

When will I learn? Today's run was my "Long One" for the week. I got a break since it was only scheduled as an eight mile run, with one minute walk breaks after every mile I ran. So I was careless, and for whatever reason once again I decided that it wasn't necessary to wear my "tool belt." You'd think I would have learned after last Friday's run. At least I remembered to drink about a quart of water prior to running, and I had a Hammer Gel and a package of GU chomps in my pocket. Plus I knew I had two water fountains I would be running by. I started strong, and the first mile flew by. I almost skipped my walk break, but decided to stick to the plan. I was still feeling strong at the two mile mark, and my split was a 9:32, with a one minute walk break included. Again I considered not walking, but again stuck to my plan. Although I was still feeling strong, my splits for miles three and four were slower, with a 9:41 and a 9:54. I was sucking on the GU Chomps, and knew that the water fountain between miles three and four would be my savior. It was out of order. The only other fountain was about a tenth of a mile from where I was parked, meaning it was five miles away, at mile 7.9 of my 8 mile run. I was mad at myself for not carrying money, as I had thought about doing since the trail goes by businesses just passed, you guessed it, the broken water fountain. Even worse was the chocolate Hammer gel that I had just eaten and now had nothing to wash it down with. I reached the 4 mile turnaround point, and shortly thereafter, between miles five and six took an extended walk break of about two minutes. I decided that I needed the extra time to "recharge." It worked. My legs felt stronger, and I skipped my walk break for the last mile, and ran a 9:15 split. Lesson learned. From now on, I wear my tool belt.